Oleg Tymchenko’s men made a successful trip to Lithuania.
Hockey Punks (Lithuania) – Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – 3:7 (0:3; 1:2; 2:2)
Goals: 0:1 – Cipruss (Sirokovs, Hu), 02:26; 0:2 – Novikovs (Begovs, Kostjuks), 13:14; 0:3 – Cipruss (Kryvonozhkin, Melnykov), 14:21; 1:3 – Zuckovs (Redko, Krukovski), 24:04; 1:4 – Novikovs (Jansons, Begovs, – power play), 31:11; 1:5 – Hu (Tsarkovskyi, Honcharenko, – power play), 36:15; 2:5 – Verenis (Belicenka, Maunula), 49:14; 2:6 – Karsums (Jansons, Begovs, – power play), 56:19; 2:7 – Jansons (Begovs, Kryvonozhkin, – short-handed+ empty net), 58:42; 3:7 – Regan (Krukovski, Zeynakov), 59:28.
Hockey Punks: Simas Baltrunas; Benas Belicenka – Rokas Bacevicius, Luke Fox Kutkevicius – Ilja Cetvertak – Timonas Mazulis; Tomas Krukovski – Kajus Zeynalov, Martinas Miliunas – Povilas Verenis – Laisvydas Kudrevicius; Vladyslav Teroshyn – Dominykas Motiejunas, Nolan James Regan – Artem Redko – Ilja Zuckovs; Alex Maunula – Ignotas Ragas, Kirill Struk – Dino Mukovoz – Pijus Skalandis
Head coach: Dovydas Kulevicius
Kyiv Capitals: Maksym Duve; Andrejs Kostjuks – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Aleksandrs Novikovs – Rustams Begovs; Edmunds Augstkalns – Vitalii Andreykiv, Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Daniil Fursa; Oleksii Melnykov – Ivan Shamardin, Yang Hu – Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Renars Cipruss; Valentyn Sirchenko – Maksims Sirokovs, Oleksandr Valkun – Marat Saroka – Denys Plesovskykh
Head coach: Oleh Tymchenko
Kyiv Capitals entered the game with a reshuffled lineup. Duve started in goal, while roster changes affected every line. Notably, both Zelts and Bajaruns were absent. Novikovs replaced Bajaruns in the starting unit, Andreykiv was shifted to the second defensive pair, and Kostjuks took his spot.
The third and fourth lines also saw adjustments, including the debut of two newcomers – Hu and Sirokovs. Their combined effort led to the opening goal, which was scored by Cipruss.
Both teams wasted early power plays, but midway through the first period, Kyiv extended its lead. Novikovs scored his first goal of the season, and less than a minute later, Cipruss struck again, assisted by Kryvonozhkin and Melnykov.
The second period began brightly for the hosts, as Redko’s quick pass found Zuckovs, who beat Duve from close range. Still, the Lithuanians kept taking penalties, and the Capitals punished them with two powerplay goals – Novikovs’ sharp shot for his second of the night, and Hu’s debut tally in the Optibet League after a feed from Tsarkovskyi.
In the third period, several fine saves by Baltrunas inspired the home side, and Verenis capitalized on a rebound to make it 2:5. But Kyiv replied again with a power play marker – Karsums expertly tipping Jansons’ shot. Later, with Kryvonozhkin in the penalty box, Kulevicius pulled his goalie for an extra skater, but Jansons found the empty net short-handed.
In the final minute, Regan grabbed a late consolation for Hockey Punks, softening the defeat.
This victory lifted the Capitals to seven points, firmly placing them in fifth spot.
Oleg Tymchenko’s team will close out the week with two home games against Energija on September 27-28.
